Addressing supporters at a Team First Lady rally in Jambur, Kombo South District, the President reacted to reports that the United Democratic Party (UDP) had pulled out of coalition talks with other opposition parties. He likened the collapse of the discussions to the end of a marriage between partners of unequal strength.
“The opposition is trying to form a coalition to contest with me in the upcoming presidential election, but news has broken out that the ones with the long ropes and the ones with the short ropes have ended their marriage,” Mr. Barrow said.
He added “where the ones with long ropes cannot fetch water to drink, do you think the ones with short ropes can drink?”
President Barrow said he had long predicted that the coalition talks would not succeed, arguing that each political party involved wanted to produce its own presidential candidate, making it impossible for them to agree on a single flag bearer.
According to him, with only one presidency to contest for, the ambitions of the various parties were always going to stand in the way of a united opposition.
The President said he was ready to face any challenger in the 2026 presidential election, pointing to what he described as his strong support base in Kombo, the Upper River Region and the North Bank Region.
Confident of victory, Mr. Barrow predicted that his margin of win in the next election would surpass the result he recorded in 2021.
He also dismissed claims by the opposition that he was seeking an unconstitutional third term, as well as allegations of irregularities in the ongoing voter registration exercise.
Mr. Barrow said his government was not distracted by such accusations, insisting that its attention remained on delivering development projects across the country.
“The work of my government will speak for itself,” he said, adding that Gambians would judge his administration based on its achievements.
He reiterated his commitment to delivering the progress that, according to him, the country had gone without for five decades, maintaining that tangible development rather than political rhetoric would move The Gambia forward.
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